Public Service is a form of citizen participation that implies assuming responsibilities and commitments to the common good. In a context of social and political pluralism, public servants must always act ethically, transparently and efficiently, seeking the general interest above the particular and with a special emphasis on the social justice promoted by public policies, removing bureaucratic obstacles and designing universally accessible public services. Public Service is, therefore, a higher degree of Citizenship in a democratic context, as it requires a vocation for service and a willingness to dialogue and collaboration in institutional channels.
CITIZENSHIP IN THE DEMOCRATIC CONTEXT
Democratic citizenship is that which occurs in contexts where constitutional principles and values such as pluralism, respect for human dignity and the rule of law predominate. It implies not only rights but also duties and responsibilities towards oneself, others and the environment. It is expressed through the forms of political participation (electoral, but not only), social participation (solidarity or educational, for example) and cultural participation (artistic, informative, etc.) that advanced societies facilitate.
It is in all these spheres, and especially for the purposes of this text, through institutional channels that the role of public services is situated, whether through formal actions (the Civil Service) or informal ones, such as many of the forms of participation mentioned above. To illustrate the importance and scope of being a public servant and citizen in a democratic context, some statistical data on public employment and citizen participation in Spain can be provided. According to the Statistical Bulletin of the Central Personnel Register of July 2022, there were 2,731,117 public employees in Spain, which represents 13.2% of the total number of employed people. Of these, 227,492 belonged to the State Administration (excluding the Armed Forces and State Security Forces and Corps and the Justice Administration), 1,617,142 to the Autonomous Communities (where the Welfare State is concentrated) and 598,526 to local entities. As is well known, public employment covers a wide range of sectors and activities, from education and health to security and justice.
For its part, the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) provides information on the political, social and cultural participation of citizens in Spain. In the last general elections in July 2023, 70.4% voted, and according to the CIS data, 10.4% claimed to have attended a demonstration or political meeting, 6.2% to have signed a petition or popular initiative and 1.8% to have taken part in a strike.
In this context, we can point out some of the challenges that this type of Citizenship must face, many of which, if not all, have already been taken up by the United Nations Agenda 2023 in 2015:
Actively participate in electoral and accountability processes, exercising the right to vote and to social control of public authorities.
Defend human rights and fundamental freedoms, denouncing any form of violence, discrimination, corruption or abuse of power.
Promote dialogue, respect and tolerance between different social, political and cultural actors, avoiding polarisation, fanaticism and hatred.
Contribute to sustainable development and environmental protection, adopting responsible and supportive consumption habits, and supporting social and environmental innovation initiatives.
Promote civic education and democratic culture, both formally and informally, strengthening the values of citizenship, participation and coexistence.
Today’s democracies face serious challenges that are already testing their capacity to guarantee the rights and freedoms of their citizens. Some of them are: the increase in social and economic inequality, political polarisation, digital globalisation and the institutional and access transformations it entails, corruption and clientelism, the influence of the media and social networks, climate change and the health crisis, among others. This situation demands a response from the Social Contract, requires active and critical participation of citizens, as well as a renewal of the ethical and moral commitment of institutions and political leaders. The European Commission has recognised the pressures faced by administrations, in particular the difficulties in attracting and selecting talent and building capacity in increasingly complex matters[1].
Being a public servant in this context thus implies taking on a complicated responsibility to the citizenry, who are the holders of public power. It implies being at the service of general interests and constitutional values such as freedom, justice, equality, solidarity and political pluralism.
THE CHALLENGES OF THE CIVIL SERVICE FOR DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP
The relationship between democracy and the civil service model is a highly relevant issue. The civil service model refers to the set of rules, principles and values that govern the organisation, functioning and management of the provision of public services through the traditional concept of the State apparatus, essentially composed of the personnel in its service.
A democratic civil service model must meet the following requirements:
- Be representative of the social, cultural and political diversity of the country, respecting the principle of equal opportunities and merit in access to public employment.
- Be professional, efficient and transparent in the performance of their functions, oriented towards satisfying the needs and interests of citizens and fulfilling the objectives of the State and the Social Contract.
- Be responsible, ethical and committed to democratic values, subject to control and accountability to society and institutions.
- To be participative, fostering collaboration, innovation and continuous learning among public employees and with other social actors.
- In doing so, it contributes to the strengthening of democracy by improving the quality and legitimacy of public policies and by building trust and credibility in institutions. A consolidated democracy requires a civil service model that responds to the demands and expectations of citizens, that adapts to social change and that promotes adequate public services. That, in short, contributes to answering the question of “what future does democracy have” that Innerarity[2] poses to us.
Belonging to the civil service requires compliance with the ethical principles that guarantee objectivity, integrity, neutrality, impartiality, transparency and exemplary performance. It is a vocation that requires a high degree of responsibility and a deep sense of ethics. Integrity and commitment to the higher values of the Constitution are essential to guarantee the trust of the public and the proper functioning of the institutions.
THE MAZZUCATO CONCEPT OF ADDED VALUE
As we have said, first and foremost, Public Service should be seen as a post-Weberian contribution, even, and linked to the concept of creating value for society, of “Public value”. For Professor Mariana Mazzucato, it is about using public resources to foster general welfare and promote sustainable and beneficial growth. She proposes recovering the role of the state as an entrepreneurial actor that invests in strategic areas such as education, health, energy and the environment. This requires truly capable administrations that “row and not just steer” the boat, in the words of Mazzucato and Collington[3], for which an HR policy holds much of the key.
Mazzucato’s work can be read not only in economic terms, but also in terms of social value creation and access to a citizenry that must address the lack of social cohesion brought about by populism. With this concept in mind, the Civil Service creates social value that allows us to affirm that public services are “the only thing that those who have nothing have”, a phrase attributed to Ortega y Gasset, which suggests that people who lack material resources or power often find refuge in the public, such as education, health or common spaces, as it is the only thing they can access on equal terms. This is precisely where the Civil Service fully manifests itself as a higher degree of Citizenship and for Citizenship.
THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCES POLICY
In this context, the selection of public employment becomes a key aspect in responding to the demands of the current and future social contract. It must ensure that public employees have the right profile to perform their duties, in accordance with the principles of merit, capacity, equality and transparency. In this way, they will contribute to improving the quality, efficiency and legitimacy of public administration and thus to the implementation of the social contract. The particular importance of the selection of those who will take on public management and leadership roles should be underlined.
At the meetings of management school networks (OECD, EU, Latin America), the variety of experiences of using competency-based assessment methods, objective tests and structured interviews to select the most suitable people in current professional competencies such as digital and soft skills of applicants is noted. From a pluralistic point of view, selection policy should consider the needs and expectations of society, incorporating criteria of diversity, inclusion, innovation and sustainability. In this area, there are civil service systems that apply affirmative action measures, promote mobility and emphasise the principles and values of the administration in continuous training. To this end, one of the keys is that recruitment must ensure a vocation for public service, together with talent.
Thus, in the case of Spain, Royal Decree 625/2023, of 11 July, on the public employment offer for 2023 emphasised in its preamble the need to have professionalised public employees in order to meet the needs of the population, boost the economy and promote territorial and social cohesion. It also highlights the crucial role of these employees in the transformation and innovation of the Administration and in the transformation of various sectors of the productive fabric.
Consequently, some of the challenges for the selection of the new Civil Service to meet these demands could be summarised as follows:
- Increasing transparency, accountability and citizen participation in public management, in order to strengthen the trust and legitimacy of institutions.
- Improve the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of public services, in order to respond to the needs and expectations of citizens, especially the most vulnerable sectors.
- Promote innovation, digitisation and transformation of public processes and structures, to adapt to social, economic and technological changes for accessible public services.
- Foster professional development, training and motivation of public servants, to ensure their commitment, ethics and performance.
- Promote coordination, collaboration and integration of the different levels and actors of public administration, to take advantage of existing resources, capacities and synergies.
Training of public employees can contribute to the challenges of the civil service to meet the above-mentioned demands in several ways. For example, training can:
- Improve the competences, knowledge and skills of public servants, resulting in greater efficiency, effectiveness and quality of public services.
- facilitating the adaptation and even anticipation of public employees to social, economic and technological changes, which implies a greater capacity for innovation, digitisation and transformation of public administration.
- foster the ethics, commitment and motivation of public servants, which reinforces transparency, accountability and citizen participation in public management.
- Promote coordination, collaboration and integration of the different levels and actors of public administration, which allows to take advantage of existing resources, capacities and synergies.
- Developing public management. According to the OECD[4], leaders of public organisations must demonstrate integrity, work in the public interest and address social issues. In addition, they must focus on cooperation, practising shared leadership and actively seeking collaboration and understanding of diverse perspectives. The answer to this challenge is INAP’s School of Senior Public Management of the State in 2024[5].
Continuous training and constant updating are essential to be an effective public servant. INAP is responsible for selecting and training public employees, as well as promoting innovation and quality in public management. INAP plays a key institutional role in promoting a Civil Service that is in line with social demands, providing quality public services. The INAP Learning Strategy 2023-2024, which focuses on the development of competences in public servants, is set to be crucial in strengthening democratic citizenship, at least indirectly.
CONCLUSIONS
Being a public servant is considered a higher degree of democratic citizenship because of the additional responsibility and commitment it implies, emanating from the Social Contract. Unlike an ordinary citizen, a public servant takes on the task of serving society in the context of the higher values of the Constitution: equality, freedom, justice and political pluralism. This means that he or she not only exercises his or her rights and duties like any other citizen, but also serves the general welfare of the community, prioritising the public interest over the private interest.